This invention relates generally to plasma processing. More particularly, one aspect of the invention is for greatly improved plasma processing of devices using an in-situ temperature application technique. Another aspect of the invention is illustrated in an example with regard to plasma etching or resist stripping used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices. The invention is also of benefit in plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition (CVD) for the manufacture of semiconductor devices. But it will be recognized that the invention has a wider range of applicability. Merely by way of example, the invention also can be applied in other plasma etching applications, and deposition of materials such as silicon, silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, polysilicon, among others.
Plasma processing techniques can occur in a variety of semiconductor manufacturing processes. Examples of plasma processing techniques occur in chemical dry etching (CDE), ion-assisted etching (IAE), and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), including remote plasma deposition (RPCVD) and ion-assisted plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (IAPECVD). These plasma processing techniques often rely upon radio frequency power (rf) supplied to an inductive coil for providing power to produce with the aid of a plasma.
Plasmas can be used to form neutral species (i.e., uncharged) for purposes of removing or forming films in the manufacture of integrated circuit devices. For instance, chemical dry etching is a technique which generally depends on gas-surface reactions involving these neutral species without substantial ion bombardment.
In a number of manufacturing processes, ion bombardment to substrate surfaces is often undesirable. This ion bombardment, however, is known to have harmful effects on properties of material layers in devices and excessive ion bombardment flux and energy can lead to intermixing of materials in adjacent device layers, breaking down oxide and "wear out," injecting of contaminative material formed in the processing environment into substrate material layers, harmful changes in substrate morphology (e.g. amophotization), etc.
Ion assisted etching processes, however, rely upon ion bombardment to the substrate surface in defining selected films. But these ion assisted etching processes commonly have a lower selectivity relative to conventional CDE processes. Hence, CDE is often chosen when high selectivity is desired and ion bombardment to substrates is to be avoided.
In generally most, if not all, of the above processes maintain temperature in a "batch" mode. That is, the temperature of surfaces in a chamber and of the substrate being processed in such chamber are controlled to be at a substantially a single value of temperature during processing.
From the above it is seen that an improved technique, including a method and apparatus, for plasma processing is often desired.